Article by Kyle Newman | Denver Post
Aiden Le Roux is officially the fastest high school runner in Colorado.
The Cheyenne Mountain junior ran 15:02.1 on Saturday at the CHSAA state cross country meet at the Norris Penrose Event Center, winning the Class 4A title and setting an all-classification course record in the process.
“This is the backyard for my high school, and I do run here a lot and I love this course,” Le Roux said. “It means a lot to hold the record for it. I didn’t know what the record was, but I was running as fast as I could. I wasn’t looking at the clock.”
Le Roux beat out his teammate, senior Brogan Collins, by 16 seconds to win the championship. Collins surged in the latter half of the race to help Le Roux nearly break the 15-minute mark. Le Roux’s time was seven seconds better than the Class 5A champion, Mountain Vista senior Benjamin Anderson, who turned in a 5A course record 15:09.5 as he also went one-two with his teammate Benjamin Adams.
Saturday marked Le Roux’s first state title after he couldn’t run at the state meet as a freshman because he was injured, and took fifth last year.
“Being able to win is one thing, but being able to share it with your team and having your teammate push you throughout the race, that’s really important,” Le Roux said.
Colorado’s fastest girl
The least surprising result on Saturday? Niwot’s Addison Ritzenhein, the state’s top distance runner, won yet again.
It marked the junior’s third straight state title. The first two came in Class 4A, and with the Cougars’ move to Class 5A this fall, the step up proved no problem for Ritzenhein. After setting the 4A course record last year, she blasted the all-classification course record on Saturday, with her mark of 16:54.7 bettering the previous mark held by Valor Christian’s Brooke Wilson by five seconds.
Click here to read the full article at the Denver Post.
CHSAA state cross country meet
Norris Penrose Event Center
Distance: 5 kilometers
Saturday
BOYS
Class 5A
Team results: 1. Niwot 44, 2. Valor Christian 87, 3. Castle View 121, 4. Boulder 158, 5. Mountain Vista 204.
| Place | Runner | Yr. | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benjamin Anderson | sr | Mountain Vista | 15:09.5 |
| 2 | Benjamin Adams | so | Mountain Vista | 15:25.8 |
| 3 | Ben Lee | jr | ThunderRidge | 15:29.7 |
| 4 | Ryder Keeton | jr | Niwot | 15:32.3 |
| 5 | Kaeden Dendorfer | sr | Valor Christian | 15:33.4 |
| 6 | Hunter Robbie | jr | Niwot | 15:34.0 |
| 7 | Evan Dann | fr | Castle View | 15:38.3 |
| 8 | Gabriel Marshall | jr | Niwot | 15:44.9 |
| 9 | Griffin Mazeski | jr | Valor Christian | 15:45.4 |
| 10 | Colton White | sr | Grandview | 15:46.2 |
Class 4A
Team results: 1. Thompson Valley 64, 2. Coronado 69, 3. Cheyenne Mountain 83, 4. Eagle Valley 146, 5. Summit 160.
| Place | Runner | Yr. | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aiden Le Roux | jr | Cheyenne Mountain | 15:02.1 |
| 2 | Brogan Collins | sr | Cheyenne Mountain | 15:18.1 |
| 3 | Oliver Horton | so | Coronado | 15:31.3 |
| 4 | Tyler Blair | jr | Eagle Valley | 15:40.4 |
| 5 | Dylan Blair | jr | Eagle Valley | 15:44.0 |
| 6 | Noah Thompson | jr | Lewis-Palmer | 15:50.8 |
| 7 | Curtis Smela | sr | Thompson Valley | 15:51.6 |
| 8 | Boston Potts | sr | Coronado | 15:51.9 |
| 9 | Guthrie Manzella | sr | Thompson Valley | 15:57.3 |
| 10 | Josh Shriver | sr | Summit | 15:59.0 |
Class 3A
Team results: 1. Salida 85, 2. Jefferson Academy 116, 3. Banning Lewis Prep 126, 4. The Classical Academy 148, 5. Alamosa 180.
| Place | Runner | Yr. | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackson Fagerlin | sr | Resurrection Christian | 16:05.3 |
| 2 | Matthew Hayden | jr | Frontier Academy | 16:07.1 |
| 3 | Jack Cerullo | sr | Peak to Peak | 16:18.9 |
| 4 | Noah Askew | sr | The Classical Academy | 16:25.8 |
| 5 | Joel Davis | jr | Lamar | 16:29.0 |
| 6 | Aden Garza | sr | Jefferson Academy | 16:33.3 |
| 7 | Ezekiel Wilcox | sr | Salida | 16:34.1 |
| 8 | Jackson Dalleck | sr | Gunnison | 16:35.3 |
| 9 | Rylan Mills | sr | Jefferson Academy | 16:36.6 |
| 10 | Kalid Fanning | sr | Frontier Academy | 16:40.1 |
Class 2A
Team results: 1. Golden View Classical Academy 47, 2. Crested Butte 66, 3. Thomas Maclaren Charter 68, 4.
Loveland Classical 119, 5. SkyView Academy 138.
| Place | Runner | Yr. | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Bel | sr | Colorado Springs Christian | 15:57.7 |
| 2 | Biruk Begashaw | sr | Lotus School for Excellence | 16:16.3 |
| 3 | Matthew Start | sr | Monument Academy | 16:17.4 |
| 4 | Ian Reynolds | sr | Denver Christian | 16:29.4 |
| 5 | Shawn Kipchumba | jr | Thomas Maclaren Charter | 16:47.4 |
| 6 | Antheney Herre | so | Loveland Classical | 16:53.8 |
| 7 | Rylan Griffith | so | SkyView Academy | 16:55.6 |
| 8 | Bobby Kiesewetter | sr | Golden View Classical | 16:56.8 |
| 9 | Nick Clark | jr | Soroco | 16:57.8 |
| 10 | James Talbot | sr | Rangely | 17:03.7 |
GIRLS
Class 5A
Team results: 1. Mountain Vista 63, 2. Air Academy 101, 3. Fossil Ridge 108, 4. Chaparral 132, 5. Niwot 160.
| Place | Runner | Yr. | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addison Ritzenhein | jr | Niwot | 16:54.7 |
| 2 | Tessa Walter | sr | Air Academy | 17:21.7 |
| 3 | Emily Cohen | jr | Cherry Creek | 17:35.0 |
| 4 | Tatum Berg | sr | Fossil Ridge | 17:42.1 |
| 5 | Keeghan Edwards | sr | Mountain Vista | 17:46.8 |
| 6 | Claire Guiberson | jr | Mountain Vista | 17:47.1 |
| 7 | Chamorra Cooper | so | Air Academy | 17:49.2 |
| 8 | Caroline Fender | jr | Heritage | 17:51.0 |
| 9 | Emry Schwalm | jr | Heritage | 17:53.1 |
| 10 | Rosie Mucharsky | sr | Denver East | 17:55.3 |
Class 4A
Team results: 1. Timnath 98, 2. Battle Mountain 116, 3. Summit 124, 4. Holy Family 147, 5. Cheyenne Mountain 155.
| Place | Runner | Yr. | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ella Hagen | sr | Summit | 17:30.7 |
| 2 | Cloe Ruth | sr | Silver Creek | 18:18.2 |
| 3 | Izzy Schimmelpfennig | so | Timnath | 18:18.4 |
| 4 | Griffin Stoughton | fr | Discovery Canyon | 18:28.5 |
| 5 | Raegan Mcrae | so | Cheyenne Mountain | 18:54.1 |
| 6 | Alice Lehnherr | jr | Thompson Valley | 19:04.8 |
| 7 | Eden Demino | fr | Battle Mountain | 19:05.7 |
| 8 | Anabella Descalzo | sr | Holy Family | 19:10.9 |
| 9 | Addison Geraets | jr | Timnath | 19:14.1 |
| 10 | Megan Bader | so | Silver Creek | 19:17.6 |
Class 3A
Team results: 1. The Classical Academy 36, 2. Manitou Springs 83, 3. Salida 108, 4. Banning Lewis Prep 172, 5. Prospect Ridge 213.
| Place | Runner | Yr. | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaney Reuter | so | Eaton | 17:26.9 |
| 2 | Elizabeth Mcquitty | sr | Alamosa | 18:21.2 |
| 3 | Vivian Jack | so | The Classical Academy | 18:44.9 |
| 4 | Ellie Askew | fr | The Classical Academy | 18:45.4 |
| 5 | Alexia Gonzales | sr | Banning Lewis Prep | 19:06.6 |
| 6 | Joy Koole | sr | Resurrection Christian | 19:14.3 |
| 7 | Keyaira Moore | jr | Manitou Springs | 19:21.4 |
| 8 | Chloe Bresnahan | fr | Manitou Springs | 19:22.0 |
| 9 | Elisa Karr | so | Manitou Springs | 19:24.5 |
| 10 | Austin Cook | jr | Telluride | 19:38.2 |
Class 2A
Team results: 1. Heritage Christian 25, 2. Lake County 54, 3. Ridgway 65, 4. North Fork 103, 5. Denver Christian 105.
| Place | Runner | Yr. | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taya Wren | so | Rangely | 19:02.5 |
| 2 | Saskia Marlin | so | North Fork | 19:36.8 |
| 3 | Mikaela Kendall | jr | Heritage Christian | 19:52.1 |
| 4 | Lilly Lukens | sr | Heritage Christian | 20:04.3 |
| 5 | Brooklyn Minihane | so | Colorado Springs Christian | 20:05.0 |
| 6 | Natasha Hessler | fr | Ridgway | 20:05.8 |
| 7 | Ariel Hessler | fr | Ridgway | 20:07.5 |
| 8 | Addison Jones | jr | Wray | 20:14.3 |
| 9 | Amika Begin | so | Nederland | 20:15.3 |
| 10 | Emma Lukens | so | Heritage Christian | 20:22.0 |